Anything used off road for business can get the federal highway tax back. It's like 18.4 cents a gallon for gas and like 24. something cents per gallon for diesel. We typically get back around $500 a year but its very time consuming to do those calculations. We have 250 or so fuel receipts each year the diesel is all truck so can't be counted. Then we have the gas which will always be missing receipts and some are unreadable so you have your master credit card report. You need to compare the 2 see whats missing what the prices were around that date and guesstimate the gallons that missing receipt would work out to. Then when all those numbers are there you can add all the gallons up and then figure what % went to off road for us its 95% of gas. We only have a single gas truck left in the fleet and it just does our running around stuff like P.O. box or buying some parts. But in years gone by that % was much lower like in the 70% range.

So correct me if I'm wrong, but just thinking about this. I've deducted all the fuel as an expense. So buy filling this out and getting back the off road use part really I am just creating more income then to tax....Seems like a lot of extra work for nothing.

That is an interesting way of looking at it. But if you make the call not to because your raise you income and pay income tax on it, then do you make the same call about extra work and taking more jobs on. After all your then need to pay income tax on them as well.

Income tax is not the same for everyone and the better you plan your deductions you could make several hundred thousand a year an have 0 liability. Regardless this is your money if you don't want it back then by all means skip the reports and filling out the form.

When filling a truck we slide the card, punch in the pin and the odometer reading. When filling a piece of off road equipment we punch in the pin and 1000, you could use any number to signify off road fuel. At the end of the month the statement shows the purchases and the off road fuel is easy to calculate, takes no time at all. Been using this method for years and I love getting some tax money back.

That is an interesting way of looking at it. But if you make the call not to because your raise you income and pay income tax on it, then do you make the same call about extra work and taking more jobs on. After all your then need to pay income tax on them as well.

Income tax is not the same for everyone and the better you plan your deductions you could make several hundred thousand a year an have 0 liability. Regardless this is your money if you don't want it back then by all means skip the reports and filling out the form.

I am not telling anyone what to do I have just been struggling to figure out if this really even has benefits.

When I take on a job I create extra income I wouldn't have had otherwise, which I then pay tax on.

However with this credit, I take away an expense of fuel from my business and then just create it as income. So in the end...isn't it really the same thing as just expensing it out in the first place?

So correct me if I'm wrong, but just thinking about this. I've deducted all the fuel as an expense. So buy filling this out and getting back the off road use part really I am just creating more income then to tax....Seems like a lot of extra work for nothing.

This is incorrect. You are confusing a "tax deduction" from a "tax credit".

A credit is money in your pocket. Whatever the credit is, that's what your taxes are reduced by.
A deduction reduces your taxable income by that amount, but your taxes are then only reduced by that deduction times your tax rate. So you only get back a small fraction of the deduction.

In this case, getting the credit on off-road fuel use (whether it is for power tools, or vehicles not driven on public highways, or generators, or whatever) will always get you more money back.

ok.... I thinkkkkkk I got it now. Reading through the off road refund description it says "If the expense for purchasing the fuel (including the tax) is deducted as a business expense, the credit or refund must be included in gross income by the taxpayer."

So I can deduct the full portion of fuel, right? In turn lower my tax from that fuel expense deduction...fill out the off road portion for the credit/refund.....but then I do have to claim the refund or credit as additional income which is taxed at my tax rate(25% for example), which is less than 100%. So would be better off claiming rather than not....Yes?

I hope I've got this figured out...if so thanks again guys. great to have some time to surf lawnsite again but now I just need this snow to melt so I have less time to think about this and can actually get out on the lawns again!!